


Piece By Piece

by corruptedpov



Category: McFly
Genre: M/M, Song fic, angsty as fuck, basically an entire fic of daddy issues, but it kinda ends happy, mentions Dougie's stay in rehab
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-02-25
Packaged: 2018-05-23 04:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6104497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corruptedpov/pseuds/corruptedpov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dougie had been let down his entire life by his Dad, luckily he has Harry to piece him back together again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Piece By Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Based entirely on the song Piece By Piece by Kelly Clarkson, I'd highly recommend looking up the song, it's amazing, and I've incorporated some of the lyrics into this.

 

_“Dougie, come here a minute, we need to have a talk.” Auntie Charlotte called me to her, leading me to the front room, the sound of crying echoing from the hallway. Mum was crying, why was she crying?_

_The front room was empty of people, leaving only me and my aunt, everyone else in the kitchen. I looked over at the table, seeing a very similar sight. It was one of my lizards, one of the babies I had just bred to be precise, unfortunately squashed, probably by a shoe. But why would Mum be crying over that? it had happened before, several times over in fact, it was an accident, and she had never reacted like this._

_“What’s going on?” it had to be more than the lizard, it couldn't just be the lizard. Nobody reacted like this over a lizard._

_“Dougie, I’m not sure how to tell you this but... Your Dad, he... he erm,” Auntie Charlotte took a deep breath, eyes welling up with tears, “He left a note, this morning. He, he’s left you, he’s left the family.”_

_I didn't understand, Dad had_ left? _Dad left the family, why had he left the family?_

_“I’m so sorry Dougie, I’m so, so sorry, but he isn’t coming back.”_

“Dougie?” That voice... I knew that voice, from a very long time ago. I hadn’t it in years, twelve years to be exact.

Turning round, I saw a man standing a few feet away, tears in his eyes as he looked between me and Lola.

“Dad?” I wasn't... he wasn't... what was he doing here?

“It’s me son, I, I came back.” Dad stepped forward, “Is that her? oh she’s gorgeous Doug.” he stopped when I stepped back, shielding my daughter from him.

“Dougie, who is this?” Harry came up behind me.

“He’s... He’s my Dad.” I couldn't... I didn't understand why he was here. He hadn’t... he wasn't...

 

_I couldn't help by cry out in pain as the razor cut into my cheek, how the hell were you meant to do this?! was there some sort of technique to it or something?! I thought shaving was easy?_

_“Hey, you alright in here?” Harry popped his head round the door, “What are you doing?”_

_“Nothing, nothing. I’m... I’m trying to get this off.” I indicated the hair growing on my face. I didn't like it, I wanted it gone, but shaving was proving impossible._

_“Yeah, trying the wrong way. You’re supposed to use shaving cream, not just attack yourself with a razor.” Harry came into the room properly._

_“Oh.” I hadn’t known that, “How would that help?”_

_“I have absolutely no idea, it just does. at least, that’s what I was told when I was taught how to shave. Didn't your Dad tell you to use cream when he taught you?” Harry asked, inspecting what I’d already done._

_“No. He... He left before he could.” I watched Harry wince._

_“I’m sorry, I didn't know. I should have guessed though, considering what you’ve told us.” Harry floundered for a second, “I could teach you, if you want? I was taught a few years ago, so I could teach you, save you cutting your face to ribbons.”_

_“Could you?” I asked shyly, but I wanted to learn, and have someone teach me. it seemed impossible, getting help would have been great._

_“Yeah, sure. Come here, I’ll get you shaving properly in no time.” Harry smiled, and indeed he did. He showed me how to shave, taking his time and not getting annoyed or anything when I accidently cut myself again._

_“Happens to everyone, even after years of practice. It’s just a thing, but you get better at it over time.” he waved it off after the third mistake, just as I finished off, “There you go, perfect and good as new. You did a good job there, not bad for the first try.” The praise made something twist inside my stomach, I hadn’t even really been praised for doing something like this before._

_“Thanks, you’re... you’re a good teacher.” I felt myself blushing, turning to leave._

_“Hey Doug,” I turned round again, “If you’re ever stuck like that again, you can come to me.” Harry looked sincere when he said it._

_“Really?” I didn't quite know what to do with that._

_“Yeah, of course. if you need anything, anything at all, I’m right next door.” Harry promised, and he never broke that promise._

 

“Your Dad?” Harry looked between the two of us, body tensing straight away.

“You must be Harry, pleasure to meet you.” Dad offered a hand to shake, Harry stayed where he was.

“What are you doing here?” I didn't understand why he was here, he had never been here before, he had never once come back. Why now?

“I came back, because I want to be in your life again, and in her life too. I’d like us to be a family again.” Dad looked between me and Lola.

“You want to _what?_ ” he couldn't be serious, he could not be serious right now.

“I want to be part of your life again, I want to rebuild this family, it was a mistake to leave, I see that now. but maybe we can try, if not just for her sake?” Dad answered, he was still looking at Lola, looking at her with wonder and awe, something he had _never_ done with me.

“Why should I? You _left_ us, without even a proper goodbye, for _twelve years!_ And now you want to suddenly come back into our lives because you have a granddaughter?” I couldn't be hearing this, I really could not be hearing this. after all this time, _now_ he wanted to come back?

“You don’t understand Dougie, I had to leave then, me and your Mum, we weren’t working out and... and I knew you could look after her and your sister, because you were in the band.” Dad was _lying._

“I wasn't in the band when you left! I didn't join until two weeks later! You left us, you didn't even think!” he had left us without a second thought, I had seen it happen, “We phoned you, phoned and phoned and you never picked up. Not once.”

 

_“I’m sorry Dougie, but your Dad isn’t answering anymore. We can’t get him to come.” The nurse told me, “Do you want your Mum to come? Nothing to do with therapy, but for comfort?”_

_“No.” I didn't want to see a parent right now, after hearing that my Dad couldn't even be bothered to come for me when I needed him. I was in rehab and he couldn't even be bothered to come. He’d answered the phone call the first time round and said that he didn't want to come. My own Dad didn't want to come when I needed him._

_“Alright, is there anyone you would like?” the nurse asked._

_“No.” I didn't want to be alone right now, but I didn't want to phone anyone either. What was the point, would anybody even come? The rest of the band were in rehearsehals for the tour, they couldn't come, nobody could come. I was on my own._

_\--_

_“Dougie, I came as soon as they called! What happened baby?” Harry raced in two hours later, falling to his knees in front of my bed and gathering me into his arms._

_“He... He didn't come Harry. We called, and he didn't come!” I started crying into his arms, my heart breaking with betrayal._

_“Oh honey I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry.” Harry pulled me into his lap, letting me cry pathetically. I shouldn’t have been feeling like this, I really shouldn’t have been, I should have been_ used _to this by now, Dad never came back, Dad wasn't come back. And yet I couldn't help but hope he would, in all of this mess, I had hoped that maybe he’d want to come back to help me. but he hadn’t, even now he still didn't want to see me._

_“Shhh, I’m here, I’m here for you, alright? I’m here, and I’ll always be here when you need me. it’s not the same thing, but I’ll always be there.” Harry kissed my hair, slowly rocking me calm._

_He didn't leave the rehab centre for three days, and then he phoned every single night, and visited whenever he could._

 

“I was busy, doing things, I couldn't spare the time.” Dad explained.

“You couldn't spare the time to visit your own son in _rehab?_ When he specifically _asked for you?_ You couldn't be bothered to spare me that time?” I couldn't believe I was hearing this, had he _actually_ said that to me? he couldn't spare the time to see me when I was in a f*cking _rehab centre?_

“You have to understand Dougie-” Dad started.

“No, no you don’t get to explain your way out of this. You _left me_ when I needed you. You’re telling me that you were _too busy_ to visit me for an _entire month,_ that you were _too busy_ to pick up your damn phone when I _needed you._ You didn't even give an explanation as to why you were busy either, you just said you were busy, that you didn't have time to even talk to me. me, _your son._ Do you know how hurtful that is? do you know how _worthless_ you made me feel by doing that? do you know just how often I cried myself to sleep that month because you pushed me aside like that?”

“Dougie I-” Dad tried again.

 

_Oh God, oh God, there were so many people outside. This gig was huge, so, so big. So many people, had to be over twenty thousand. All staring at us, watching up perform. I couldn't do this, I really, really couldn't do this. f*ck, f*ck,_ f*ck.

_“Dougie, Dougie whoa there. Don’t faint on me, it’s alright, you’re going to be okay.” Harry’s words faded as my world went black._

_\--_

_“He’s waking up!” Harry was close... his voice was... was really loud, “Hey there, you passed out on us there. Are you alright?” quieter now, softer. A hand was touching my cheek._

_“I... I think so.” I whispered, I thought I was, but was I? Nothing hurt but... but we still had the gig to play._

_“Good, now come on, sit up for me.” Harry helped me sit up straight, “There we go, now what seems to be the problem? You don’t usually pass out like that.” Harry asked, his hands holding me upright, in case I wobbled again._

_“The, the gig. There’s so many people out there. All staring and judging and-” I was cut off._

_“And it’s just like any other gig, it’s just that little bit bigger. It’s going to be fine, just pretend that it’s any other gig.” Harry stroked my hair._

_“But it’s_ not _though.” It wasn't a normal gig, it was a_ huge _gig, the biggest we had ever played!_

_“But sometimes it’s good to pretend it is, and I know it’s scary, it’s terrifying in fact, but it can be fun too. all of our shows are fun, right?” I nodded, “And this one will be too, as long as you don’t get the size get to you... Tell you what, if you get scared, you can run up to me and play next to me, alright? Or you can simply turn and face me for a bit, will that make you feel better?” I shrugged, not really knowing. Looking at Harry sometimes helped, because if I knew that he was fine, I knew that I was fine too, but I still didn't know. I was so scared, so deeply scared._

_“Alright, well it’s all I’ve got right now for you, but it’s something, right? You’re going to be fine, I promise. And if you don’t feel fine, come to me, nobody will be angry if you run up to see me for a bit, alright?” Harry made me nod again, and somehow, during the gig, looking at him worked. Seeing him having a good time, turning to see him smiling at me, it helped. I got through the gig, and I didn't pass out again, or throw up, or forget my words. Harry’s mere presence helped, and knowing that he was going to be there, just behind me, helped me stand on my own two feet on that stage. If I had Harry, I could do anything._

 

“But you’re all rich and famous now, not having me around shouldn’t have affected you that much!” Dad tried to defend himself.

“It did! It did! It screwed me up for a _long_ time! I was so screwed up because you left me! after you left I didn't know if I could trust anybody else to never leave me again, I constantly wondered what made me so damn repulsive that you had to leave without saying a word! I could barely even trust Harry enough to start a relationship with him!” I handed Lola to Harry, scared I would drop her, “Let alone when we decided to have our daughter. I was _so_ scared one of us would do the same to her. the _only_ reason why I’m alright is Harry, do you understand that? it was Harry who picked me up, piece by piece.”

 

_“Harry, I’m not... I want to drink again.” I whispered down the phone, shaking in my corner, feeling like the whole world was screaming at me._

_“I’ll be there in five minutes.” Harry promised, and he was._

 

“Harry was the one who taught me to shave, to be a man. Harry picked me up from the ground and brought me back from the brink so many times.”

 

_“It’s okay Dougie, it’s okay. I’m never going to walk away. I’m right here. I’m always going to be right here, never doubt that I will always be right here.”_

“It’s Harry who stayed for no reason other than the fact that _he loves me,_ through all of the sh*t we’ve gone through, all the times I’ve pushed him away out of fear cause by _you,_ Harry has stayed.”

 

_“Doug I know that you’re not okay, and you have some issues you’re working through, but just know, that I’m going to be here, alright? When you need me, I’ll be here. I’ll be your friend, or your lover, or even just a band mate, whatever you need I’m going to be there for you.”_

“Harry takes care of me too, he’s always taken care of me. for _twelve years,_ he’s looked after me, when you should have been. He’s been patient and waited tirelessly for me to be ready for him, he’s backed off when I need him too, and come when I’ve called. Hell he’s come when I’ve been too scared to call for him. for twelve whole years, he’s proved, a thousand times over, that he’s going to stay, unlike you.”

 

_“I understand if you don’t want to marry me, I know you have issues with marriage. But, I’d like to ask anyway, so you know that to me, you’re the one for me. That I want to grow old with you by my side, I want us to spend the rest of our lives together. And I know, I know that it’s hard for you to trust that far, but, after seven years, maybe you could see yourself trusting me?”_

“He understood that because of _you_ I couldn't trust him for the longest time, that I was ignoring my feelings and everything so I didn't have another person leave me like you did. And you know what? He didn't complain about it _once,_ he didn't try to convince me that I should trust him, or try to talk me round. You know what he did? He _showed_ me, by staying, by letting me figure things out on my own terms. he did what _you_ should have done and stayed!”

 

_“You won’t be like him Dougie, I promise. You will be_ nothing _like him. if we have children, we’ll both stay with them, neither of us will leave them. They won’t have the childhood you had, they won’t have to experience the pain of losing one of us. we’ll stay, both of us.”_

_“How do you know that?”_

_“Because I know you. And I know me. if I had a child, I know that I would never walk out on them no matter what happened. I’d love them until the end of time. and I know that you would too, and between the two of us, I think we could make fantastic parents, and raise the most loved children to ever walk this earth.”_

 

“He was the one who taught me that maybe a man could stay with his family, that maybe I could trust somebody. He was the one who made me realise that the apple fell so very far from the tree, that I’m never going to leave her, like you left me. that neither me nor Harry are going to make Lola wonder her worth, or make her think for one _second_ that she isn’t loved. And unlike you, I’m going to put her first, in every situation from now on, I’m putting her first, like you should have done.” I could feel myself shaking with the emotion  of it all.

“And Harry proved to me, over the twelve years that you should have been here for, that he will never leave me either. And he’ll never leave her, he’ll never walk away, he’ll never break her heart. He proved that _he’ll love her,”_ my eyes teared up, _“_ until the end of time, no matter what happens. Unlike you, who left because you couldn't take it anymore, who abandoned me like I was nothing.” I looked back at my _family,_ at my beautiful little girl, the one I could never imagine even considering leaving her, or Harry, before turning back to the person I knew as my father.

“Now go. Leave us alone. I don’t want you back in my life, I don’t want you anywhere near my daughter either. If you can’t be there for me when I need you, then you certainly don’t get to be there for my daughter.” I took my daughter back into my arms, kissing her hair, “Now come on baby girl, we had a fun day out planned for you.”

“Are you alright?” Harry asked, taking my hand, by my side like always.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll always be fine with you by my side.” I smiled, “And... thank you. For restoring my belief in fathers.” I leant into his shoulder.

“Everyone deserves a great Dad in their life, I’m just sorry I couldn't prove it to you earlier.” Harry kissed my hair, holding me and Lola in his arms, a silent promise that he would _never_ leave us.

**Author's Note:**

> Completely and utterly unbeta'd, written about a month ago, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I had to write it down. Please let me know what you think of it down in the comments, I've been thinking about this fic for MONTHS, and it means a lot to me.


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